Zack Wheeler is Back in Ace Mode
Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball
The Athletic
4.7 • 875 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Another top prospect has arrived in Seattle, as 20-year-old Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson made his MLB debut Sunday. Eno and DVR also discuss how Zack Wheeler finally looks like his old self again after beginning the season on the IL, and why Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki may finally be settling in as a reliable starter in LA. Later, the guys open the mailbag to discuss Shohei Ohtani, stabilizing whiff rates, and the long-term outlook for Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards.
Rundown:
0:47 Colt Emerson Promoted
8:13 Zack Wheeler is Rolling
12:11 Walk Rate Improvement: How Much is Sustainable?
17:43 Surgery for Blake Snell: Loose Bodies in Elbow; Timetable TBD
21:37 Roki’s Turnaround: Another Strong Start vs. Angels
25:09 Justin Wrobleski Excelling in LA
26:46 Grayson Rodriguez is Back: A Big Boost for Halos’ Rotation?
28:33 Clay Holmes Out Several Weeks: Leg Fractured by Comebacker
35:40 Jose Altuve is Hurt: Grade 2 Oblique Strain, Timetable TBD
40:47 Weekly Decision: Using Shohei Ohtani as Pitcher Instead of UT?
44:40 Whiff Rates: When Do They Stabilize?
53:18 The Long Game: Xavier Edwards’ Future Outlook
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Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today on Rates and Barrels, the Mariners have promoted top prospect Colt Emerson. |
| 0:04.2 | Zach Wheeler looks all the way back. |
| 0:06.6 | Injuries unfortunately continued to pile up over the weekend. |
| 0:10.1 | Let's go. |
| 0:20.4 | Welcome to Rates and Barrels. It's Monday, May 18th. |
| 0:23.8 | Derek Van Riper here with Eno Seris. |
| 0:25.6 | Eno, did your mom run another 100 miles this weekend? |
| 0:29.1 | No, but I went to the BTS show and had fun. |
| 0:32.5 | Yes, how was that? |
| 0:33.9 | It was great. It was a spectacle, man. It was a big old stadium show, and they pulled it off. |
| 0:41.7 | Gotta love a big old stadium show. Lots of ground for us to cover here on this Monday. Colt Emerson has joined the fray for the Mariners. GM Justin Hollander suggesting that this isn't necessarily a short-term |
| 0:55.7 | patch for the roster, which I think just means Emerson can play his way into staying for the |
| 1:01.9 | rest of the year. This is a banged-up Seattle team right now. Cal Raleigh's on the IL right now. |
| 1:06.6 | Brendan Donovan needs some time off with a groin injury. That's the thing that opened up this spot |
| 1:11.2 | for Emerson right now. And, you know, Donovan's injury is probably only a two to three week thing. |
| 1:16.8 | It doesn't seem like it's going to be much longer than that. Eventually, they'll have to make a |
| 1:20.8 | decision. If Emerson plays well, do they keep Donovan in a super utility role and just kind of |
| 1:26.5 | play them four or five times a week? |
| 1:28.2 | Do they play J.P. Crawford less? If everybody's relatively healthy at that time, there's not really a lot of playing time up for grabs in the outfield because Randy Rosa Rane has played well. |
| 1:38.5 | Luke Rayleigh's having a great year. And of course, Julio is your everyday guy in center field. So how do you see the pieces fitting |
| 1:45.1 | with Emerson and do you believe Hollander that there's a real path for Emerson to stick |
| 1:49.9 | around beyond Donovan's stint on the IL? Yeah, I think the salient problem here, if there is a problem, |
... |
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